Nitrogen-Doped Porous Carbon Enabled by a Dual-Functional NH₄Cl-Assisted Strategy for Quasi-Solid-State...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Carbon Materials

Background:

• Supercapacitor electrode materials require optimized porosity and heteroatom doping for high performance.
• Developing cost-effective and sustainable methods for producing advanced electrode materials is crucial for energy storage.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a simple, dual-functional strategy using ammonium chloride (NH4Cl) to convert inedible sprouted potato starch into nitrogen-doped porous carbon (NPCT-N).
• To investigate the role of NH4Cl in simultaneously modulating pore structure and nitrogen configuration during a single thermal process.
• To evaluate the electrochemical performance of the synthesized NPCT-N material in supercapacitors.

Main Methods:

• A facile NH4Cl-assisted dual-functional strategy was employed for the one-step synthesis of nitrogen-doped porous carbon from potato starch.
• Systematic comparisons with other nitrogen sources (melamine, urea) were conducted under identical conditions.
• The synthesized material's porous structure and nitrogen content were characterized.
• Electrochemical performance was evaluated in a supercapacitor device, including specific capacitance and energy density.

Main Results:

• NH4Cl demonstrated a dual role, effectively regulating pore structure (1589 m² g⁻¹, 97% micropore) and incorporating graphitic nitrogen (34.98% of total N).
• The NPCT-N electrode achieved a high specific capacitance of 438 F g⁻¹ at 1 A g⁻¹, maintaining 270 F g⁻¹ at a high mass loading of 10 mg cm⁻².
• A quasi-solid-state flexible symmetric supercapacitor exhibited an energy density of 32 Wh kg⁻¹ at 900 W kg⁻¹.

Conclusions:

• The NH4Cl-assisted strategy offers a simple and effective route for producing high-performance nitrogen-doped porous carbon from waste biomass.
• The synthesized material shows significant potential for advanced energy storage applications, particularly in flexible supercapacitors.
• This approach highlights the utility of NH4Cl as a dual-functional agent for simultaneous pore engineering and heteroatom doping.